Now, in this article I will list both free and premium de-essers, as well as give you my top 3 choices right at the end, simply to make things a bit easier. If you don’t know what a De-esser does then here’s a post I wrote that explains just that! De-esser plugins are essential not only for making any vocal track sound professional but also to tame the harshness on almost any other tracks in your mix like hi-hats, cymbals, and even in the mastering phase.